Molly blinked slowly and yawned as she felt a warm hand stroking her cheek.  Sunlight streamed through the windshield, temporarily blinding her.  Jerking upright as she recognized the yellow garage door in front of her, she instantly realized where she was.

“We’re at your parent’s house, Molly,” Devil stated softly from beside her, as if she needed any more clues as to her location.    He must have seen the panic covering her face because she felt his hand cover hers where it rested, balled into a tight fist, in her lap.

“You know, I’m not against eloping,” he offered quietly, his voice as warm as the sunshine.  “I can have a flight to Vegas arranged in minutes.”

Molly almost pitied him.  He had no clue the rain of crap he’d bring down on his head if he deprived her mother of planning her first wedding.  Shaking her head, she smiled slightly at him as she met his dark eyes.  “You know, as much fun as I’ve had imagining ripping out your heart, I don’t actually have any real desire to see you harmed.  If you even breathe the word ‘elope’ inside that house after you tell my parents that we’re engaged,” Molly warned, nodding to the two story brick home in front of them, “my mother will find a way to make a butter knife into a lethal weapon.”

“If I know your momma, she’ll succeed, too.  Unless you decide to defend me.  I might stand a chance then,” he teased her with a gentle grin, wriggling one eyebrow.

“Defend you against my mother?” Molly echoed him, slightly horrified that he’d even suggest such a thing.  The man might have the sexual prowess of a mythological god, but nothing was worth having her mother as a mortal enemy.  “Uhmmm…nooooo.”  She shook her head furiously.  “I like my life.  I’d hate to have it end prematurely.”  There was no doubt in her mind that Anne Ramsey’s wrath would reach legendary proportions if her only daughter up and eloped in a tacky Vegas wedding.  Such a thing just simply was not done!

“We could just tell them all after the deed was done,” Devil proposed glibly, winking at Molly.  “Then we just keep running.”

Molly’s lips twitched with amusement as she leaned forward.  “Devil, are you scared of my mother?”

“Terrified.” He nodded somberly.  “You Ramsey women are dangerous creatures and I’m a smart enough man to admit it.”

“Yet, you’re still determined to marry me.”

“More determined than ever, babe,” Devil replied, reaching over her to open her door.  “Haven’t you heard?  I’m a man that likes risk.  Living on the edge has made me into a very successful man.”

Watching as Devil circled the car to reach her side, she sighed.  He’s summed himself up perfectly.  If there was one thing she knew about him, it was that he thrived under pressure.  Nothing rattled him - even under the most intense circumstances. Even now, he appeared steady as a rock while she had butterflies performing acrobatics in her tummy. 

She took his hand as he pulled open the door, and the diamond in her engagement ring twinkled as the sunshine reflected off it.  Standing in front of him, she felt his hand slide over her hip.

“It’s going to be fine, Molly,” Devil assured her in a low voice when she shot a worried look toward the front door.  “Your family has been my family for years.  They might be shocked at first, but that will pass quickly.”

“So you say,” Molly murmured as he enfolded her left hand in his and guided her up the sidewalk to her childhood home. 

~~***~~

“Well, there you two are,” Anne Ramsey greeted Molly and Devil as they crossed the threshold into the warm, inviting Ramsey household.  Hugging her daughter first, Anne quickly enfolded Devil in her arms in the same way she would any of her children.  “I thought I was going to need to send out a search party,” she chided, releasing the man and smacking his shoulder.  “You work too hard, Devil,” she admonished with motherly affection. 

Kissing Anne’s cheek, Devil grinned.  “I like making money, Miss Anne.”

“There are more important things in this world than the almighty dollar, son,” Anne scoffed and offered Devil a hard look.  “You need a good woman to teach you that.”

“Oh, I think I might have found one already,” he replied with a lingering smile at Molly.

Anne watched her daughter blush deeply.  Raising an eyebrow, she looked from Molly’s embarrassed face to the tender expression Devil wore on his. “Is that so?” she asked softly, narrowing her wise green eyes on the pair of them.

Molly squirmed uncomfortably under the weight of her mother’s knowing look. From the time she was old enough to steal candy from the dish on the hall table, Molly had never been able to keep a secret from her all-knowing mother. The woman had skills that the CIA was just now learning about.  “Momma, we’re sorry we’re late,” she said quickly, trying to change the subject.  “Do you need help in the kitchen?” she asked eagerly.

“No, the family is already seated in the dining room,” Anne answered slowly, narrowing her eyes as she added pointedly, “Along with Pastor Davis.  I think I might have an uneven number at my table now.  I should have insisted Sam or Vivian come to lunch.  It would seem like you already have a dinner companion, Margaret Ellinor.”

Molly cringed as her mother used her full Christian name.  That never meant good things for her.  “Now, Momma,” she said softly as Devil squeezed her hand.

“Miss Anne, Molly and I didn’t intentionally ruin your luncheon.  With Nana’s heart attack and things being busy at the office, neither one of us thought to call and let you know that I’d be accompanying her this afternoon.  Blame me, not her.”

The mother in Anne Ramsey took precedence over the detective, and she shook her head as she patted Devil’s cheek. “You know you’re always welcome at my table, William.  Your grandmother is my best friend.  I just got off the phone with her as a matter of fact.  She seemed to think you two might have something you needed to share with the family this afternoon.  I tried to get her to tell me what she knew, but she seemed to think that you needed to be the one to tell us your news.”

Oh, God!  What if Nana had already ratted them out?  Her mother would never forgive her.  Molly bit her lip and glanced up at Devil as his fingers tightened around hers.   

“Nana said she was going to call you when I talked to her this morning.  She’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Yes, I already told her that I’d be there to welcome her home.  I was going to take over a meal.  She mentioned that you’d already hired a nurse to sit with her, but she’s family.  I told her that I’d be happy to fix a room upstairs for her, but she refused,” Anne explained worriedly, turning to move back toward the dining room.

“You know how Nana feels about staying in her own home, Miss Anne, but I’m sure she appreciated the offer.  I know that I do.”

Anne waved off his gratitude.  “Please, we’re family.  Family takes care of family.  I’m going to try again with her tomorrow.  At any rate, she said we’d have a lot to discuss tomorrow after you talked to us today.  I can’t deny that my curiosity is peaked.  What’s going on, dear?”

Wrapping an arm around Anne’s shoulders, he guided Anne toward the dining room as Molly trailed along behind them.  “Lunch first, Miss Anne.  My mouth has been watering for that pork tenderloin since you mentioned it at church.  Besides, I’m betting the others are chomping at the bit to dig in.  Nobody has ever cooked as well as you.”

Molly rolled her eyes behind them.  Her mother had always been a sucker for Devil’s charm.  Apparently it was an inherited trait; that would explain how she had found herself in this current predicament.

“Finally!” Grant growled from the table as they walked into the room.  “We’ve been staring at this spread for fifteen minutes,” he complained, gesturing toward the table with a swipe of his hand.  “I’m starving!”

“I promise, Momma, I feed him at home,” Karen offered with an apologetic smile at her mother-in-law. 

“Not like this, you don’t,” Grant mumbled into his glass of sweet tea, grunting as Karen’s fork stabbed his thigh.  Their two small children were seated beside them, forks in hand and just waiting for permission to attack the food.

“Alright, children, I believe we’re all here now,” Anne chided as she took her seat opposite the head of the table and offered a kind smile to the handsome young minister sitting beside her. “Let’s bow our heads.  I believe our special guest is going to offer thanks for the food, aren’t you, Pastor Davis?”

“If it pleases you, ma’am,” the young man nodded as he shot Molly a smile across the table.

Molly weakly returned his smile as she settled into her assigned seat and bowed her head.  Great, just perfect, she thought with a silent groan.  The pastor still thought he was here for a potential pick-up.  Devil knew it, too.  She could feel him tense beside her, and his hand found her knee underneath the table, squeezing a gentle warning as the minister’s voice began the prayer of thanks.

~~***~~

An hour later, Molly attempted to artfully dodge yet another offer for a date with Pastor Travis Davis.

“Your mother tells me that you were an art history major in college, Molly.  She’s been telling me all week how talented you are with a brush and paints.” Travis smiled at her across the table as he spooned a bite of Anne Ramsey’s famous banana pudding.

“Has she?” Molly asked with forced cheerfulness, shooting a dirty look at her amused brother as she heard him chuckle.  “I really haven’t painted in a long time.  I wasn’t that great.  I just used it as a stress buster.  I only studied art.  I didn’t actually take classes in producing it,” she explained, shifting in her seat as Devil’s hand contracted over her knee again.  He’d been doing that the entire meal, every time the pastor threw out a line and tried to reel her into some activity they could do together.  He must have sensed Travis gearing up to cast another lure.

Truthfully, the only person that seemed to be truly enjoying lunch was Grant.  Her dad was oblivious to the undercurrents of tension, and had eaten three helpings of everything on the table.  Karen looked worried.  Her mother was curious.  And Devil?

Devil Delancy looked like he wished he could blow up the genuinely nice Baptist youth minister with the power of his mind.  Obviously, he was unaware that such an act would be frowned upon by her mother and God himself. 

Yep, this was a fun-filled family event.

“Nonsense!” her mother interrupted her daughter’s thoughts.  “Molly is exceptionally gifted with an easel and brush.  Some of her paintings hang in the hallway.”  Anne nodded toward the corridor that led into the living room.

“I bet the good pastor would love for you to show him your paintings,” Grant remarked with a grin and an evil glint in his eyes.   He scooted ever so slightly to his left then, and Molly only hoped that Karen had better aim with her fork the next time.

“Oh, I’d love that!” Travis nodded emphatically, then smiled widely.  “I’m more than ready to see anything Molly wants to show me.”

Grant covered his laugh by coughing into his napkin as Devil and Molly glared at him.

“You ought to take him up to the attic,” Walter Ramsey interjected, dropping his fork onto his plate.  “A lot of the stuff she did pre-college is up there.”

Devil’s hand flexed around her leg again, an unspoken warning that Molly wasn’t going anywhere alone with another man, religious or not.  “I don’t think so, Daddy,” Molly denied with a quick shake of her head, reaching underneath the table to bury her nails in the top of Devil’s hand.  “The stuff downstairs is much better.”

 “Well, I’m sure anything she shows me will be beautiful,” Travis said as he leaned forward.  “What I was getting at, however, was that I’ve been thinking of implementing an art program at Hillhaven this summer.  I think it would be a nice, positive program for the children.  I was hoping that with her experience that Molly might be willing to help me get the idea off the ground with the church deacons.  Would you consider having dinner later this week and discussing the idea with me?” he asked.

There came a point in every negotiation where Devil Delancy was certain that it was time to cut to the heart of the matter.  And if he didn’t do so immediately, he might just choose to cut out the young minister’s actual heart instead.  Clearing his throat, Devil wiped his mouth on his napkin and cut Molly off before she could reply.  Turning to look at her, he kept his voice low as he murmured, “I think it’s time, honey.”

“Now?” Molly squeaked, her eyes widening in shock as her spoon clattered to the table.  Obviously, the calm before the storm had ended, her earlier stress-relief-slash-car-sexcapade-high had faded, and the world was about to explode into tiny little pieces.  “Devil, I don’t think…”

Ignoring her protest, Devil shot the young man across the table a cool smile.  “While I’m sure that Molly would love to help you with your project at some point, Pastor, I’m afraid she’s going to be exceptionally busy for the next few weeks.”

“You draggin’ my girl out of town on one of those blamed business trips, Devil?” Walter asked from the head of the table.  “It’s getting’ awfully close to Christmas for that bull.”

“Oh, he’s draggin’ her somewhere all right,” Grant chuckled under his breath.

“Not exactly, sir,” Devil denied, kicking Grant underneath the table and causing his best friend to choke on his pudding. 

“Are you two finally going to explain what’s going on here?” Anne asked, staring at her daughter as if the power of her mind could compel an honest answer.  “Molly?”

“Well, Momma, it’s complicated,” Molly returned nervously as Devil’s hand shifted from her knee to grip her sweaty palm.  Complicated was the kindest word she could use.  Completely and totally fucked up beyond control would be a far better answer, wouldn’t it?  But such language wasn’t allowed at Anne’s table, after all.

Offering Molly a tender smile, Devil shook his head.  “Actually, it’s fairly simple, babe.  At least for me, it is.” 

“What’s goin’ on here?” Walter asked, his bushy grey eyebrows furrowing as he straightened in his chair and looked at Devil. 

“Well, Mr. Walter, I’ve asked your daughter to marry me, and she said yes,” Devil announced calmly, drawing the hand bearing Molly’s engagement ring from underneath the table.  “With your permission, sir, I’d like to officially join this family.”

Looking from one end of the dining room table to the other, Molly observed her stunned parents.  Her mother’s surprised eyes stared, unblinking, at her father.  Her daddy sat opening and closing his mouth as he struggled to form words.  Gee, her inner Marilyn whispered gleefully, you finally did it, girl!  You gave both of your parents a stroke at the same time!  Now that’s talent!

“Holy mother of God!  That’s a rock,” Karen breathed, clapping a hand over her mouth as she realized she’d broken the silence just as her husband cackled beside her.

Nervously looking around the table, the young Pastor Davis nodded enthusiastically, reaching out a hand to offer a handshake to Devil across the mashed potatoes.  “My congratulations, Mr. Delancy.  I think you’ve found a wonderful woman, but I can see that you all need some private, family time.  I’ll just show myself out.  Thank you for a lovely dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey.”

Anne nodded wordlessly, unable to take her eyes off of Molly’s father. 

Molly watched longingly as the young pastor hurried out the door.  The poor guy was probably going to leave skid marks in the driveway escaping her insane family.  Too bad she couldn’t do the same. Glancing at Devil, she could tell he was relieved to be rid of the man of God.  His shoulders had relaxed, and he now had his arm draped around the back of her chair as he waited for one of her parents to speak.

“Granny,” little Ainsley asked from her seat beside Karen, completely oblivious to the tension in the room, “Can Matty and I go outside?”

Shaking off his stupor, Walter nodded.  “I think that’s a great idea, Sunshine.  Take your brother outside and go play on the swing set.  Stay inside the fence.”

“We’ll go with them, Daddy,” Karen said with a quick smile at Walter while she tugged on Grant’s elbow.  “Come along, husband,” she ordered under her breath.

“Are you crazy?” Grant muttered, not moving from his seat as he grinned at his sister.  “It’s just getting good,” he whined when his wife’s fingers twisted his earlobe painfully.  Seconds later, he reluctantly followed her out, giving one last thumbs up over his shoulder.

Waiting until Grant and Karen left, Walter looked at his wife.  “Mother, why don’t you and Molly clear the table?  Devil’s going to join me in my office for a nice chat,” he said firmly, rising from the table and stomping toward his inner sanctum without a backwards look.

Exchanging a quick look with Devil, Molly murmured, “Good luck.” 

Rising to follow her father, Devil winked at her as he dropped his napkin on his seat.  Bending, he brushed a kiss to her temple.  “I don’t need luck.  I’ve got you.”

Clearing her throat, Anne’s eyes were soft on Devil as she nodded toward the door.  “Don’t make him wait, son.  You caught him off guard.  You should remember how much Walter hates to be surprised.”

“I do, ma’am.  Hopefully, I can convince him this was a good surprise,” Devil replied with a calm smile.  Squeezing Molly’s shoulder reassuringly, he moved toward the doorway, trailing in her father’s footsteps.